Legislative Agenda

The Era of Bold Reform Must Continue

2015-16 Legislative Session

The past four years of legislative reforms have been nothing short of remarkable. Lawmakers focused on key problems impeding economic growth and hampering our business climate, and enacted bold reforms to address them.

For example, Wisconsin has made tremendous progress toward badly-needed tax relief. The Legislature passed across-the-board income tax cuts for all taxpayers, made a historic reduction in property taxes, and enacted the manufacturing and agricultural tax credit to strengthen these two Wisconsin economic super sectors.

On top of the $3 billion in savings from public employee collective bargaining reforms, the Legislature and Governor have cut taxes by $2 billion over the past four years. We also saw the Legislature enact some of the most aggressive legal reforms in the country, as well as a groundbreaking set of regulatory reforms that has wrestled rulemaking away from unelected bureaucrats.

These reforms, and many others, are drawing national attention as Wisconsin continues to move up in various business climate rankings. Despite these successes, there is much more work to be done. The era of bold reform must continue in order to unleash Wisconsin’s full potential for job creation and economic development.

WMC’s Vice President of Government Relations Scott Manley wraps up the 2013-2014 session with Speaker Robin Vos

The Legislature must make continued progress toward tax relief, including the repeal of the job-killing income tax hike enacted in 2009. We need to give workers the freedom of choice in the workplace by passing a Right to Work law, thereby putting our state back on the map for new job creation projects. And we need to build upon recent regulatory reform by requiring lawmakers to approve the most expensive and impactful agency rules before they can become law.

Although our state is clearly headed in the right direction, there are many more reforms we can pass to make Wisconsin’s business climate even stronger. The following legislative agenda provides a roadmap for reform that will empower job creators, and provide a strong, stable and predictable business climate in Wisconsin.

WMC looks forward to working with lawmakers and the Governor toward enacting these policies and ensuring that the era of bold reform continues.

Our Policy Wins Make Your Business More Competitive

WMC made significant advances during the 2013-14 legislative session toward our mission of making Wisconsin the most competitive state in the nation to do business. With the help of pro-job lawmakers and Governor Walker, we were able to win key victories to reduce taxes, curb lawsuit abuse and streamline regulations. View our victories here.

Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC)

Founded in 1911, Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce is the state’s chamber of commerce and largest business trade association representing more than 3,700 employers of every size and from every sector of the economy.